Auto theft has become a very popular crime in the United States due to the ease with which it can be carried out. And there is no way of easily detecting who the thieves were in order to serve justice and retrieve the property.
A car theft is not covered by all policies. You will need to have a comprehensive policy in order to get reimbursed for auto theft. If you just have a third party auto insurance policy then you are out of luck. You will just have to file a police complaint and hope that the car is found before it is ripped apart for parts.
The general modus operandi of all car thefts these days is to break it apart and sell it for parts. The thieves will never sell the car as a whole because it can be easily identified and they can be traced. But if they rip it apart and use just those parts which do not have a vehicle identification number, they can very easily get away with it. And most of these thieves will be in cahoots with a local mechanic who will help get rid of the parts. And you will have to sustain the loss of an entire car or if you do have first party fully comprehensive insurance, you can lay a claim for a lost car. And your auto insurance premium will automatically go up as a result.
We shall discuss a few common techniques to prevent auto theft, thus saving millions of dollars to the auto insurance companies and also preventing rise in auto insurance prices.
Firstly remember to close all the windows and doors properly. And do not leave the keys inside the car. This can reduce the time to steal a car by more than half.
Secondly, keep the important documents like vehicle registration and proof of insurance in your person. Also do not keep other important documents like social security number, driving license, bank documents etc inside an unattended vehicle. You can be hit by a double whammy if the car were to be stolen.
Thirdly, do not ever leave your car with its engine running. This is an open invitation for a thief. Not all thieves commit a premeditated crime; the majority of them are opportunistic ones. If a person realizes that there is little chance of identification or capture, he or she will very easily resort to illegal activities.
Your car is the safest when it is in the garage. If you do not have a garage, the risk of having it stolen is higher.
When you leave your car for the night on the road, there are some things that you can do to reduce the success of a theft. If it’s an old car, you can very easily detach one of the spark plug cables. You can also turn the wheels sharply towards or away from the curb. Another good idea is to leave the car parked in first gear or reverse. If they were to hot wire it, it will make a huge noise and jerk since it is in gear. Also do consider installing burglar alarms or steering locks if you live in a rough neighborhood.
